True Love By Fate
by AmberSavage1234
Summary: Complete random 'fantasy' Stendan one-shot. One night Brendan finds Ste half-dead and he takes him home to heal. Seriously, I wrote this in less than a hour, so it's just a super quick strange thing. *Complete*


**I have to be honest here; I have no goddamn idea what this is. I wrote it in a state of unconsciousness (that's my way of saying I was half asleep) and it is the most random, weird thing I – myself – have ever read, or witnessed. It is just so strange so I'll forgive you if you do not like it…anyway I hope you enjoy it…maybe and if you do or don't please review anyway :) and yes, it's not 'M' I know! I shocked myself and I'm not even sure if it's 'T' but there you go...thanks for reading! Chow x**

**True Love by Fate**

It was a dark and stormy night. An unnatural haze lingered over Hollyoaks. In his bed, Brendan shivered. For a summer night, the air was cold and the sky was black. It was almost as if something evil lurked out there in the shadows.

Brendan rolled over, clutching his pillow, and tried to fall back asleep. But a worry nagged in the back of his mind. Something was not right. No matter how he tried, some ghostly force prevented him from sleeping. It made him uneasy. With a sigh, he rolled out of bed, pulled on his t-shirt and joggings bottoms, and poured himself a cup of water from the pitcher on his nightstand. Quietly, he left his room.

The halls were silent as he walked in the dark. He did not know where he was going, or why, but his body seemed to move on its own accord. He was being drawn by an unseen power. Past his father's bedroom, past the dining hall, past the kitchen, and out onto the terrace. With the moon hidden behind thick clouds, it was nearly impossible to see in the inky black night. But something lying on the path to Brendan's right made him gasp in shock. A body.

'What the fuck?!' Brendan shouted. He leapt over the terrace railing and onto the ground below, running toward the fallen form as fast as he could. Tree branches scratched at his skin and pulled at his clothes, but he paid them no attention. Heart pounding, he fell to his knees on the pathway and placed a gentle hand on the figure's arm.

Now that he was closer, he could see that this was a young man, a fragile one by the looks of him, who appeared to be no more than twenty-three years old. But he was in dire need of help. His clothes were torn and bloody, and his hair was matted with blood. He needed the attention of a doctor, immediately. Without a second thought, Brendan picked up the wounded man and, cradling him in his arms, carried him inside to seek the help that was so desperately needed.

-X-

'His situation is severe,' Seamus said in a worried voice. 'Whether or not he will live until morning is beyond my sight. My team of nurses will do the best they can, but...' his voice trailed off.

Brendan could sense his fear. There was a good chance the young man might die. 'Is there anything I can do to help?' he asked.

Seamus sadly shook his head. 'Nothing the nurses are not already trying. But it might help if you just sat with him. He will need to see a friendly face when he wakes up from this ordeal, and you are the closest thing he has right now.'

'I understand,' said Brendan. 'And I will stay with him for as long as it takes. I will not let him die.'

With that, Brendan turned and hurried to the room where the wounded man was being housed. He was surrounded by nurses, all of whom wore the same concerned expression. They had washed his body and dressed his wounds with a healing fluid, but still the man showed no signs of improvement. His breathing was shallow, and his pulse was weak. One of the nurses turned to Brendan with a defeated sigh.

'It will be an uphill battle,' she said. 'We have done all we can at this time. Now, we can only wait and see if he wakes up.'

Brendan nodded resolutely. 'I will stay with him through the night and keep watch.'

One by one, the nurses left the bedside, the last one closing the door behind her. In the flickering candle light, Brendan dipped a square of cloth in the bowl of warm water left by the nurses, and gently used it to stroke the injured man's forehead. Then, taking up the man's limp hand, he settled into his bedside chair and prepared to wait through the remainder of the long, cold night.

-X-

'Where... where am I?'

Brendan jerked awake with a start when he heard the words being spoken. He stared down at the injured person, an immense wave of relief coursing through his body. The man was alive and from the looks of things, he was on his way to making a full recovery.

'You are in Hollyoaks,' Brendan told him. 'I found you last night, lying unconscious and nearly dead on a path coming from the forest. I carried you inside, and my father's nurses tended to your wounds. Please, tell me your name and how you came to be here.'

'My name is Ste,' said the man. 'I come from up North. I was on an errand for my dad, to deliver an important message to Cheryl in Dublin. But last night... All I remember is that I was riding through the forest when suddenly I was attacked by a group of Warren's. At least thirteen surrounded me. I tried to escape, but there were so many, and I had only my baseball bat for protection. And that is the last thing I recall. I do not know how I came to be here, or why I am not dead.'

Brendan smiled at him. 'The stars must shine favourably on you. To live through such an ordeal... that is more than mere luck.' It was more than luck, too, that Ste had wound up in Hollyoaks and Brendan had found him. Now that they two were together, it felt almost like fate had lent a hand. Ste was meant to be here, and Brendan was meant to have found him. Why, Brendan did not know. But it felt so certain.

It also did not hurt that Ste was one of the most beautiful individuals Brendan had ever seen. His sleek mousy-brown hair contrasted with large, piercingly blue eyes set in a lovely face. And his sculpted body, half-hidden by the bed covers, was a further attraction. Brendan could hardly suppress his desire to run his hands over that soft hair and perfect body. But he kept his feelings under control. Ste had just barely survived a nearly fatal encounter. Now was not the time for such filthy, dirty thoughts.

-X-

Within three days, Ste had improved enough to leave his bed. Seamus gave him a new set of clothes, and he was able to wander the corridors and gardens by himself. But the one thing that troubled him was Brendan's absence. Since the morning when he'd first awoken in Hollyoaks, he had not seen Brendan at all. It was as if his rescuer had simply disappeared. He had asked Seamus where his son could be, but Seamus had no answer. Brendan was gone without a trace.

Ste desired to speak with Brendan again, and properly thank him for saving his life. But he also just wanted to see the handsome…Irishman? Once more. He could not explain it, but he felt a deep connection to Brendan, either forged by the lifesaving bond or some other power. He knew that Brendan was someone special. Someone he had to see again.

It wasn't until the sixth day after Ste had recovered that Brendan returned to Hollyoaks. He rode up the same path where Ste had been found, dragging a net filled with the heads of identical Warren's behind him. All thirteen of them.

'Here are your Warren's!' he called to Ste. 'I found them hiding out in a cave not far from here.'

Ste stared in surprise, eyes going wide. 'You killed... all of them by yourself?'

'I cannot let such dangerous creatures roam free in our lands,' Brendan replied. 'And I did it for you. They nearly killed you. I do not want anything like that to happen again.'

Ste could feel his heart pounding as Brendan spoke. Brendan killed those Warren's... for him. Before he could stop himself, he leapt at Brendan and threw his arms around his neck, kissing the brave man hard on the mouth.

Brendan laughed in surprise, but did not pull away. 'What was that for?'

'Just a thank you,' Ste said. He smiled, but when he saw the suddenly serious look in Brendan's eyes, the smile faded. 'What is wrong?' he asked, worried.

'Steven,' said Brendan, for some reason thinking using his full name was acceptable. Ste didn't mind though. 'I have to confess something to you. That first morning you were here... I thought you were so beautiful. I wanted to kiss you then, but I did not know how you would react.

Ste gasped in shock. 'Kiss... me?'

'I told myself I must not, because of the terrible ordeal you had just suffered. It was not the right time. But these past few days while I was gone, I could think only of you the entire time. And now...'

'Brendan...' Ste sighed his name. 'I thought about you too. All the time, while you were gone. I was worried I would never see you again.'

Brendan lifted his hand to gently stroke Ste on the cheek. 'I am sorry I ran off like that. I should have said something to you.'

Taking a deep breath, Ste said, 'Brendan, there is something I have been considering over the past several days. I think we were meant to find each other. What happened to me... it was no accident of fate. I was meant to come here. You were meant to rescue me.'

A bright smile broke across Brendan's face as soon as Ste had spoken. 'You know,' he said, 'I had been thinking the exact same thing. That night when I found you I had been so worried and unable to think. Some strange power led me out to the balcony, and that was when I saw you.'

Ste took Brendan's hand. 'So you think... we are meant to be together?'

'I have no doubt of it.' Slowly, Brendan leaned in and kissed Ste softly on the lips. 'I love you,' he whispered.

'I love you too, Brendan.' Ste mumbled in return, capturing Brendan's lips once more.


End file.
